IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing 2010

The IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC) is the premier international forum for researchers and industrial practitioners to discuss the theory, applications and evaluation of technologies, visual and otherwise, that enhance the role of humans in the computing process.

This year marks the 26th anniversary of the Symposium. Established in 1984, the mission of the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing ("VL/HCC") is to support the design, formalization, implementation, and evaluation of computing languages that are easier to learn, easier to use, and easier to understand by a broader group of people.

This includes all research aimed at the above mission, regardless of whether it uses entirely visual technology, text, or instead uses sound, taste, virtual reality, the web, or any other technologies. Examples of research addressing this problem include, but are not limited to, language/environmental design aspects, theory that supports the many media used toward this goal, implementation aspects, empirical work, software comprehension aspects (including software visualization), and software modeling and/or software engineering aspects.

Panel: "SUPPORT FOR THE UPTAKE OF USER-DEVELOPED-SERVICES - BUSINESS VERSUS COMMUNITY MODELS" on Friday 24th at 16:30, organized by Nikolay Mehandjiev (Univ Manchester) and Antonella de Angeli (Univ Trento).
Uptake of end user development in service-based software is increasing, for example, Facebook offers more than half a million applications and more than a million developers and entrepreneurs who target its 400mln users. Some of consumers who do not have programming background are also starting to develop service-based applications and mashups. Therefore, the key challenge is how to support this end user development activity and empower users to innovate whilst guarding against the potential for errors. The measures under consideration could be technical, in terms of visual interfaces and mechanisms for API navigation, or socio-economic, including issues of trust and payment modalities.
The argument at the panel is expected to centre around the best way to organize the activities of both end users and commercial developers as to minimize the possibility for trust and privacy abuses; and on the utility of any technical and visualization measures to increase awareness of these issues amongst end users.

We want to thank our sponsors: the United States National Science Foundation, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, and Microsoft Research.

We are delighted to announce that our opening keynote speaker (22 September) will be Dr. Ed Chi from PARC; our second keynote (24 September) will be Professor Jan Jurjens from the University of Dortmund.